Shoplifters of the World

source: Shoplifters of the World

Action movie

Arguably one of the best bands ever. This is a debate that could last into the wee small hours with kids that grew up in the 80's. Amazing times and amazing bands. This movie should have been made in the same mould as the 'BreakfastClub' to have the authenticity of an 80's classic. However, it falls short! The movie tries really hard but should have tried much, much more. One major critisisim, it should have been set in 'Manchester' not 'Denver' The Smiths really were an 80's UK thing. Smiths fans will love this movie and they'll be streaming all their albums for nostalgic weeks after :-)

We all watched this for the Smiths and their music, what we got was a jumbled mess of one liners and weird perspectives from people that all seemed like emo castoffs of the last few years, I was a Smiths fan and so were a lot of my friends, most of us also listened to New Order, Depeche Mode, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, Sisters of Mercy and on and on. It was kind of insulting that they made the main male fans out to be apparently LGBT or questioning, that was really not a thing back in 87, it was there but not at all out front and in your face like this flick proposes it was. Myself and most of my friends were educated, street smart and loved to party at some of the coolest clubs and after hours in Toronto back then, we weren't wimps or emos but loved good music and knew what it was when it was played, The Smiths just made you think a bit more than the average bands before and after them, while it wasn't The Breakfast Club or Stand By Me in defining an era it was interesting to be kind of thrust back in time to the little things, friends, music and driving around looking for the nights next exciting event. It didn't succeed in making me a fan of any of the actors, but it did bring back some simpler times vibes and that was good enough to make it decent. Will I watch it again? Probably not, but that's ok, I wouldn't want to relive the old days again either except maybe for a weekend just to see the young crowd of old enjoying themselves and the silly frivolous days and nights and what seemed important. And yeah, I was the guy who gleeped Emo's girlfriends back in those days lol, that whole scenario was realistic as far as what she did with the jock, I'm not sure she would have felt so guilty after though, that was a stretch, girls didn't really go for soft guys back then so much, maybe the Nina Hagen fan girls like some of the girls I went to school with, most of them went for the regular no surprises if we like you you know it type, no wondering or words needed, good times, wish they could have captured that in the film instead of the alternate reality they posed as authentic.

Let me start by saying I'm a huge Smiths fan. This movie however is dreadful. Lazy script just shoe horning as many Smiths lyrics as possible. No subtlety. Characters unlikeable. It's like a school play written by a 15 year old who once listened to Nowhere Fast. Poor in the extreme.

Life before internet... before social media... WAS fun.

Not sure of the plot, but lovely stuff to hear The Smiths in a movie. Times without them, was sad. No idea on what was going on for some of the time. Disappointing they didnt play Last Night... or Asleep. Otherwise grateful to watch.

This review is more about the style of the 80s in this movie, from the POV of a '88 grad GenX deeply into the alternative music scene. Writing this partially in response to a review stating no one dressed like Madonna. Yes, we did dress like Madonna, granted not as closely emulated as in this film. That said, the film itself wasn't great, but the (underdeveloped) characters were fun. Except Cleo. Ugh! The stereotypes were exaggerated but it was nice to see a Robert Smith lookalike because, yes, there were always a few of those dudes roaming the halls in high school, as well. As for replicating the 80s, it was hit or miss. Cleo's makeup was too contemporary (Instagram model soft, blended eyeshadow? Please.), while others, including the extras, were authentically wearing heavy black eyeliner and frizzed out hair. Side note - as an Aquanet devotee, that was NOT an 80s style container. We really did carry those in our purses, but they had big white click on lids on a perfectly cylindrical can. That was a modern can of hairspray. Annoying! I'll admit though, watching for inaccuracies was pretty fun, and along with the soundtrack, the best part of the movie.

If The Smiths were not the soundtrack to your life, at best this will be a. John Hughes-inspired 80's flashback film about that group of friends in the waning days of high school lamenting their future without each other. If however your life made much more sense once you discovered Morrissey and Johnny and every coy twisted lyric that made you feel better about yourself and the world we live in, this is the movie that will make you laugh and cry and remind you that you are not alone, you were never alone and how at the worst of times, you can still sing your life. This loving and respectful homage to everything The Smiths, with layers of references done in a period-piece style, should probably have been made decades earlier... but is well worth the wait. Thank you to the entire team who gave this gift to those of us who will watch it over and over again.

A must if you're a smiths fan , Writing by a Smiths fan, for Smiths fans 👏🏻